Method of making wells



Feb. 7, 1933. R. P. SIMMONS METHOD OF MAKING WELLS Filed Aug. 27, 1930 4Sheets-Sheet 1 Richard R imm0n5 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Feb. 7, 1933. R. P.SIMMONS 1,895,110

METHOD OF MAKING WELLS Filed Aug. 27, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 c A m.

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1 1 1 1 a 1 =7 f uw n D BY ATTORNEY Feb. 7, 1933. R. P. SIMMONS1,896,110

METHOD OF MAKING WELLS Filed Aug. 27, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 i W \I?? yill! EMU /bv.

Fla/10m 1? Simmons INVENTOR BY ATTORNEY Feb. 7, 1933. R. P. SIMMONSMETHOD OF MAKING WELLS Filed Aug. 27, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 4' Richard 7?Simmons INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 7, 1933 i PATENT OFFICE BlIGHABDP. SIMMONS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

mn'rnon or; MAKING WELLS Application 111m August 27, 1980. Serial No.475,112.

4 This invention relates to improvements in methods of removing mineraloil from the earth, and its leading object is to provide a method bymeans of which the native gas 1 5 pressure of a natural oil and gasreservoir of any given geological area, may be conserved against free,wasteful, discharge to the atmosphere, and utilized over a prolongedperiod of time to maintain the lifting energy of the natural gas supply,so that oil will be conveyed to a preferred point of withdrawal, forfinal removal by the aid of pumping means or otherwise. i

The revailing practice of extracting mineral oi from the earth or groundinvolves the usual operation of drilling the well to penetratethefiatural oil and gas zone or reservoir, which lies beneath a rock capor covering, over which lies various strata of geo logical materials.'After thewell is completed the oil andgas are conducted, according toprevailing practice, to the ground level, by a casing of uniformdiameter, .in which the gas pressure from the natural reservoir isconcentrated to produce a concentrated flow of mixed oil and gas, and avery wasteful discharge of both, in the preliminary stages of operationof the average oil and gas well.

It is the current practice to drillan oil well I so that the wall of theWell bore is supported by a casing, consisting of sections joinedtogether at their meeting ends, by suitable coupling means. When thewell has been completed through the rock to vent the natural reservoiranother casing, of uniform diameter from its head section to itslowermost section, is progressively extended from the head of the well,through the outer casing, to the entrance to the natural oil and gasreservoir, until the source of the oil and gas is tapped. The oil andgas, under their own natural pressure, then discharge through this innerconduit, which is, as stated before, of uniform diameter from its lowerend to its upper end through the well.

In many new oil wells the natural pressure of the gas is "ery higluandrecent experience in one very large producing well graphicallydemonstrated the enormous waste of oil and gas which results from theuncontrolled discharge of both to the surface, resultin in the sprayingof'surrounding buildings an places with oil, and endangering valuableproperty and the lives of many people. This Wast- I ing of oil increasesthe fire hazard and naturally raises the cost of insurance and ofproperty and life protecting systems employed.

The discharge of large volumes of gas and oil during the initial stagesof the operation of a newly constructed oil well, furthermore, resultsin the early reduction of the gas pressure of the well, with theconsequent reduction of the output of the oil from the well, and leadingto its possible early abandon ment, due to the fact that the residuentgas pressure has dropped below the stage necessary to provide sufficientenergy to propel the oil into the well, so that it may be conveyed tothe surface by pump pressure.

The present method aims to conserve the gas supply in the natural oiland gas reservoir of the ground, and to utilize the capacity of the wellfor local storage of oil which may be readily removed when wanted, byproviding a well having flow chambers of different diameters, oneoflarge capacity to receive and hold the oil and pro-- vide an expansionof the compressed natural gas, and therefore a reduction of itspressure, and. the other chamber or passagebeing of relatively smalldiameter, which forms the intake for the larger chamber or means ofcommunication between this large chamber and the natural oil and gasreservoir,

through the natural covering or-cap rock which normally seals the oiland gas in its natural reservoir in the ground. By m method the naturalgas flows through this ca 1 rock or natural covering in a passage or welintake opening of approximately normal diameter, considering current oilwell practice, entering the large capacity well chamber above thisintake passage, so that it must fill a larger cubical area and thusexpand to do so, thereby reducing its own pressure per cubic inch. Thisreduction of pressure of the natural gas after it has entered the largecapacity chamber of the oil well, necessarily reduces the lifting energyof the expanded gas, and if the level of the expansion of the naturalgas is properly located with reference to the depth of the well, or thedistance the oil must be conveyed or lifted to the surface, the level ofthe oil delivered into the well may be accordingly controlled, so thatwasting of both oil and gas through uncontrolled discharge will beavoided; v

The practical object of the invention is to provide an oil well andmethod of operation thereof, for piercing a natural gas and 'oil'reservoir and withdrawing both oil and natural gas under flow control,both as to pres-' sure and delivery, whereby the natural pressure of thegas in its natural reservoir may be maintained at the highest point ofpropulsive energy or lifting force over a period of time greatlyprolonged beyond what is now possible with current methods and oilwellpractices, to secure increased and controllable production of the oilfor the longest pos- 'sible period of time, and to eliminate waste ofboth oil and gas.

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists incertain new and useful constructions, steps and operations, andcombinations thereof, examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional viewthrough the large capacity chamber of an oil well,

partly completed, showing the well casing in place.

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the expansion plug at the bottom of thelarge well chamber locked in place.

Fig. 3 is another similar view, showing the use of one form of drillingmeans, for forming the small diameter well chamber or well intakepassage, showing the expansion plug in lace.

ig. 4 is another similar view showing the completed plural diameter oilwell, and a pumping unit installed therein.

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view through an oil well. showing anelevated expansion plug therein.-

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view through an oil well constructed andequipped to carry out my improved method of oil and gas withdrawal andseparation in the well, and through a companion well, equipped toprovide an independent path for the return of the natural gas to thenatural gas and oil reservoir.

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the expansion plu on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 8 is a cross sectional view, taken on line 8 of Fig. 7 looking inthe direction of the arrows.

Fig. 9 is a vertical sectional view through the expansion plug, showingthe well casing broken away. a i

Fig. 10 is a cross sectional view taken on line 9 of Fig. 9, looking inthe direction of the arrows.

Fig. 11 is a sectional perspective of one section of the well casing.

Fig. 12 is a sectional longitudinal View through one form'of a pumpingunit, illustrating the method of continuing the gas conduit through thecasing of the pumping unit.

The method is carried out by first forming an oil well chamber A down tothe rock covering or cap, which forms the natural seal for the oil andgas supply, through the material which overlies this rock covering orcap. This oil well chamber A is of abnormal diameter, consideringcurrent oil well drilling practice, and may be twenty inches indiameter, twenty-four inches in diameter, or more.

or less.

This large diameter oil well chamber A is formed by the aid of largediameter well casing B, which consists of companion sections Ba, coupledtogether at their meeting ends and extending down into the well boreformed. This well casing is of uniform diameter from the top to thebottom thereof, and the well chamber A is also of approximately uniformdiameter from the top to its lower end.

The oil well chamber A is formed by the use of drilling equipmentcapable of successfully drilling an oil well of abnormal size ordiameter.

The well casing B is formed with one or more sections having internallongitudinal keys C and keyways Ca therebetween. In-

ternal radial keyways C?) are cut through the longitudinal keys C. Thesesets of keys and keyways are preferably spaced vertically from eachother in the casing when the same is practicably installed.

The longitudinal keys form means for maintaining any well units employedin a vertical plane, either against relative rotative or relativelongitudinal movement, as may be required.

The longitudinal and radial keyways also form means for holding theexpansion plug D in selected position, against displacement, at thebottom of the well chamber A, when this chamber has been driven to therock covering or cap, which seals the oil and gas supply in the earth.

This-expansion plug consists of a body of metal or other materialsuitable for the purpose, and is provided with a central passage oropening Da, the wall of which is formed with coupling means Db. Fromthis central opening a flared or conical chamber E extends upward. Thischamber provides means for a gradual expansion of the natural gas,duringits upward flow from the natural oil and gas pocket 'or pool inthe earth, so that the gas enters the chamber A at a greatly reducedvelocity.

The expansion plug D is positivelv coupled to the lowermost section ofthe well casing B by means oflocking lugs F, which may be ,mounted inthe plug for sliding movement, or rigidly formed thereon or securedthereto;

5 These lugs F are designed to pass freely throu h the longitudinalkeyways of the well casing B, and then be locked in the radial ortransverse .keyways thereof, by a slight 15 tively locked againstdisplacement under the pressure of the gas and oil.

After the expansion plug D has been placed in position it is possible tostart the work of drilling the smaller diameter oil and gas intake, toestablish a means forindfucing the oil and gas to. discharge from thepocket or pool chamber usually located below the rock cap or covering.

Any system of drilling may be employed, as the present method is notlimited toany particular means or method of removing the rock below thechamber A', to provide the smaller diameter oil and gas intake passagefor the oil wellk As an example of a drilling equipment which can'beused to excavate the rock, I show a drilling barrel or casing G, thelower end of which is equipped with a suitable excavatinclgr or cuttingtool Ga. This barrel or casing to the ground surface.

The drilling-head or casing G is lowered, with its supporting casing orpiping to the level of' the expansion plug D, when the cutting tool Gaof this-drilling head or cas- Ting rides on the conical wall of theexpansion chamber of this plug D, and is thus centered relative the axisof the ,well. The operating casing or piping Gb may then be rotated ineither or both directions of turning and the rockprogressively,excavatedto form-an intake passa e H through which the oiland gas may fl ow from thenatural deposit or pp y- 1 a The maximumcutting diameter of the drillbig head G-determines the final diameter ofthe intake passage H. The core produced by the operating of the drillinghead G is pro gressively lifted to the surface, as it enters and isfrictionally locked in the barrel. or casing G, and removed, until therock cap or covering is pierced, when the pressure of the gas and oilwill then seek discharge or release. downward against this pressure andthen gradually lifted until the drilling head passes entirely above theexpansion plug, when the pressure will have been greatly reduced.

Since each time the ratio between the intake I passage H and the mainwell chamber A is a turning movement of the expansion plug,

. is rotated by means of a sectional -casing or piping Gb, which extendsThe drilling head is forcibly held doubled, the area of the latter isincreased four times, it follows that the reduction of the pressure ofgas and oil in the intake passage H is correspondingly reduced. Itfollows therefore, that if the area of the main well chamber A isincreased four times that of i the intake passage H, the pressure of thegas when it reaches the main well chamber A will be reduced toone-fourth the pressure of the gas in the intake passage H. If thisratio be further increased so that the main well chamber A isapproximately twenty-four inches and the intake passage H isapproximately six inches in diameter then the area of the main wellchamber will be approximately sixteen times that of thearea of theintake passage, and the pressure of the main well chamber A will be butone-sixteenth of the pressure in the intake passage H.

The number of vertical feet the oil is pro-' polled or lifted by thepressure of the gas will then be determined by the pressure of gas inthe main well chamber A. Natural gas under great presure Is the onlymeans for imparting flow to the oil stream, so that it can be induced toenter the oil well and then elevated to the surface, either by utilizingthe pressure of the natural gas, or by combining this pressure with thatwhich can be supplied by means of a pumping unit installed in the well.h

After the drilling unit G is removed and mined,.it is then possible tocalculate the approximate level to which the oilwill rise under thereduced pressure'of the natural gas,

resulting from its expansion during its up-V ward flow in the large wellchamber A.

A pumping unit, comprisin a casiniLis then lowered into the well 0 amberby means of its eduction or outlet pipe Ib, so that its inlet pipe Iawill be immersed in the oil supply which settles and accumulates in thewell chamber A at the level'where expansion of the gas takes place. Thiseduction pipe I?) also serves to hold the pump unit against relativerotation inthe well, and to hold it downwardly against any upwardpressure which the gas may exert .upon it. The casing I encloses anelectrical motor I0,

the pressure of the gas supply has been deterthe. pumping means Id, andthe as conduit Ie, which extends through the casing I, from end to end.

The casing I is provided with external keys If, which are designed toprovide restricted gas channels Ig, so that a limited upward gas oil isconveyed into the chamber A, where the gasexpands, resultmg in aseparatlon of the tively small intake passage by the gas, the v gas andoil. Owing to the viscosity of the oil and the flow conditions of thewell, the oil will offer considerable resistance to the upward flow ofthe gas, and will thus act to restrain the gas from excessive discharge,with the result that the supply of gas may be conserved in its naturalreservoir and its pressure maintained against rapid reduction within thenatural reservoir. The effect of this is to prolong the period of timein which the gas pressure of the natural reservoir as exerted throughthe well chamber A communicating therewith, will exert effective liftingforce upon the oil to cause it to flow into and through the well, sothat its withdrawal can be accomplished. My method thus creates a poolof oil above the reservoir of gas. which is confined by the natural rockcap or covering, which causes a reverse pressure upon the gas undercertain conditions of hydrostatic balance, and assistsin maintainingthat adequate control over gas pressure and delivery of both gas andoil, which is essential to economical operation, sound conservation ofgas and oil, and elimination of wastage of both.

When the gas pressure of a well of pres ent type drops very low oilcannot be taken from the well, since none is delivered into the well,and this may take place though the supply of oil in the naturalreservoir below the well is far from being exhausted.

Due to the inability otoperating crews to control the outflow of bothgas and oil during the initial period of operation of a new oil well,because of unrestricted discharge through a conduit of uniform .diameterfrom its intaketo its head, the pressure of the gas of the naturalreservoir acting through the oil well, is rapidly lowered, and

soon reaches a point where insufficient propulsive energy is supplied toconvey-the oil. By holding oil in the well losses from fire andlightning, and the cost of conserving it for disposalmay be materiallyreduced, and,

in fact many costs eliminated, since the use of large storage tanks atthe location of the v oil wells is now made necessary by the forcibleexpulsion ofthe oil by the high pressure natural gas, and the completelack of efiicient and reliable means for preventing discharge of oilandgas during the period when a well 'is flowing at its maximum.

Effective control of the natural gas pressure therefore makes possiblethe adequate control of the discharge of both oil and gas.

lrVhen the pressure of the natural gas supply in an oil well isin'suflicient to liftthe oil to a level preferred-for conveyance to thesurface by pumping, y allowing expansion chamber A, then the oil levelmay be raised in. the chamber A, by connecting a small conduit or casingJ with the passage H, and providing an additional expansion plug Kat thehead of this casing J." The casing J would have a diameter approximatelythat of the passage H, so that no expansion of the gas supply would takeplace in this casing or conduit J, the expansion-takingplace as the gasflows upward through the second expansion plug K. The pumpmg unit islocated in the chamber A, above this second expansion plug, at a levelsuflicient to insure flow by ump pressure of the oil discharged above te second expansion plug K. By varying the level of the final expansionof the gas the pocketing of the oil in the chamber A may be controlledto accommodate the decreasing pressure of the natural gas supply, and tocontinue discharge of the oil into the well under conditions calculatedto insure maximum productive life to the oil well, and to further insurethe fullest practicable conservation of both oil and gas.

. The upper end of the well casing'B is equipped with a cap L, tightlysecured thereto, through which the oil conduit or outlet pipe from thepumping unit is extended at La. The natural gas which rises in the well'is conducted by the conduit L0 to a power gas compressor M, whereby thegas may be ,placed under additional pressure and returned to the oilwell chamber A, by means of the conduit Lb, which extends downward- 1ypast the pumping unit. and is connected at itslower end to the lowermostexpansion plug D, through which the natural gas is discharged into thewell chamber A.

By this return conduit system the supply of natural gas for a given oilwell may be maintained fairly constant, so that the pressure exerted bythe natural gas to propel the oil into the well will he maintainedthroughout the productive life of the well, with the least losses.

The use of the cap L at the head of the well casing establishesapproximately equal-pressures above and below the pumping unit and theexpansion plug. The oil is squeezed or forced into the well by the highpressure of the gas against the sand deposit, and the gas and oilseparate in the chamber A, the

gas which penetrates the oil rising above its level, flowing past thepumping unit and then being withdrawn by the gas compressor,

1 which returns it to the natural reservoir zone,

that an effective working gas volume may be of the gas to take place atthe bottom of the means of causing the oil to flow into and through thewell, it is essential that the gas be mamtained in the well with theleast loss of volume and of pressure. tracted or withdrawn the gaspressure can be built up by pressure created upon it through theexternal compressing unit.

The system provides for the confinement of the gas in the well underconditions promot ing effective control thereof, with the leastgeological change of the fundamental flow conditions of the well.

Any desired drop in pressure may be maintained in the chamber A, byregulating the rate of withdrawal of the excess gas from the gas conduitsystem.

- Under existing practices only a minor percentage of the available oilsupply of a natural reservoir, as tapped by an oil well, can

be withdrawn. Expert opinion indicates altels the basic chemical balanceof the oil.

The storage of oil at the well location, or near it, is now madenecessary by the rapid expulsion'ofthe oil, because of the high naturalpressure of the natural gas, and the lack of any method at present'forefi'ectively con+ trolling it. of delivering the oil, in its originalcondition or in its refined forms, to the public, but is unavoidablewith present methods.

By my method of withdrawal from the nat-' ural reservoir of either the.oil or gas, extraction is accomplished under conditions calculated tomeet current market needs, without requiring expensive and hazardousexternal storage.

The expansion plug D includes anouter cylinder or casing D which isformed with longitudinal keys D and ke ways D located between said keys.The 100 ing lugs or members F havea circumferential movement in theslots D formed in the casing D so that these lugs or members F may beforced into the vertical planes of the keyways D from their positions innormal registration with the keys D The shifting of the lugs or lockingmembers F is accomplished by means of the inner casing D which isenclosed by the outer casing D The upper end of this inner casing D isprovided with screw threads or coupling means D which are engaged bybellshaped member D, which is coupled to the operating casing D.

By constructing an auxiliary well N in the As the oil is ex-.

This practice increases the cost same territory as the main well A, bythe drilling of a large capacity well chamher and a reduced oil and gasintake, or duplicating the well A, and by using a. return gas conduitLd, suitably connected with the compressor M, and extending through thecap L at the head of the casing B of the well N, the natural gas whichis not returned directly to the reservoir immediately below the well A,or conducted .to an outside source, may be returned to the naturalreservoir under the pressure supplied by the compressor. By suitablevalves located on the gas conduit the direction of flow of the gasdischarged from the well A may be controlled at will. The conduit L0! isshown coupled to the threaded'upper end of the expansion plug D, whichis locked at the bottom of the auxiliary well N, by means of an invertedbell-shaped or conical coupling element D.

The full control and conservation .ofthe natural gas supply in theground reservoir is thus made possible, by providing means forcontrolling the flow of the gas'that leaves the I well, so that it maybe either returned to the well under higher pressure, or returned to thenatural oil and gas reservoir, through an auxiliary communication withthe natural ground reservoir, as-by the auxiliary well N, or bycommunication through any associated oil well tapping a common oil andgas supply.

- My method therefore providesfor the maximum return of the gas to theground reservoir, so that the original pressure of the gas upon the oilsupply may be continued, with the least avoidable reduction, for. asgreat a length of time as possible. Itfurtherprovides for the naturalseparation of the 011 and gas in the well, by a separator formed by theoil well, and which operates from the time the initial flow of gas orgas and 011 starts, and is not dependent upon any equipment introducedinto the well subsequent to the starting of flow upwardly through thewell.

This separating action results, as previously explained, from theexpansion of the gas stream, caused by the increased area of the mainchamber of the well, over the area of the intake, which results in agreat reduction of pressureper square inch of well surface, and a greatloss of lifting energy of the gas supply admitted to the well, due tothis dissipation of pressure.

The expansion plug D employed at the bottom of the well is not primarilynecessary to this expansion and consequential separating action betweenthe gas and oil, and is used largely to provide a more complete controlof the expansion and separation, and to reduce the erosion at the intakeof the well, due to the high velocity which results from the initialflow of the oil and gas into the well.

The present application is a development and a continuation of thedisclosure set forth in the application for. patent filed by me on April25th, 1928, Serial 272,799. In this application I disclosed a twodiameter oil and gas well, wherein the main chamber of the well is ofrelatively large capacity and the intake is of greatly reduced capacity,so that an expansion of the gas takes place after its r flow from theintake passage, or as it leaves this intake passage and fills the mainchamber of the well.

The details of this couplin head are more fully disclose-d in my copening application for patent Serial 386,354, filed August 16th, 1929, thereferences made herein being largely forillustrative purposes.

'In my copending application for patent.

- Serial 401,446, filed October 22nd, 1929, I

show means for drilling large diameter oil wells, by one method ofoperation, and in my copending application for patent Serial 401,- 445,filed October 22nd, 1929, I show a motor operated means for drilling oilwells of large diameter. In other copending applications for patent Ihave disclosed various forms and types of mechanism for drilling. In myapplication for patent Serial 401,447, filed October 22nd, 1929, I showa core barrel drilling apparatus, whereby the core may be removed as thematerial is drilled through; In my copending application for LettersPatent Serial 401,926, filed October 23rd, 1929, I

' show an oil well pumping apparatus, by

- and then means of which the oil can be efficiently removed in carryingout the present disclosed method.

I reserve the right to use any equipment in carrying out my improvedmethod, or to apply the mechanism shown in my copending twiefn suchdeposit and the interior'of the we 1 3. The method of constructin anoilwell which consists of first drillin t e well to a point just above theoildeposit, then-inserting in the bottom of the well a filler having arelatively small channel therethrough, an then piercing the wall betweenthe oil deposit and the bottom of the well with a tool oper ated throughsaid channel.

4. The method'of constructing an oil well which consists of firstdrilling the well to a point just above the oil deposlt, then insert:ing in the bottom of the well a filler havin a relatively small channeltherethrough, an

then piercing the intervening wall between the bottom of the well andthe oil deposit by using the filler channel as a guide for the cuttingtool, so that the opening in said wall will correspond in size to thechannel v in said ICHARD P. SI ONS.

In testimonyiwhereof I aflix mlyfiifnature.

applications for patent, which I may more fully illustrate in this caseif required to (1 so.

I claim as. new I 1. The method of mineral oil production WhlCllcomprises drilling a well of comparatively large diameter from thesurface to the I cap rock of an oil deposit to provide a "gas exganslonchamber of suificient volume to an stantially dissipate the natural gaspressure and preclude gushing when the oil flows, then disposing at thebottom of'the well a filler having an openingltherethrough, and t e caprock into the oil deposit with a tool of comparatively small diameteroperated through the filler open- .ing to 1 provide a channel ofcomparatively small cross section efi'ecting communication between saidchamber and the oil deposit.

2. The method of constructing an oil well consisting of drilling thewell to a point just above the natural oil deposit, disposing a flowreducer at the bottom of the well thus drilled,

piercing the intervening wall beottom of .the well and the oil depositto effect a. relatively small intake between the

